Published every Three Months. Sponsored
by an International Group of Theosophists.
Objectives: To uphold and promote the Original Principles of the modern
Theosophical Movement, and to disseminate the teachings of the Esoteric
Philosophy as set
forth by H.P. Blavatsky and her Teachers.
Editor: Boris de Zirkoff.
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Make checks and money orders payable to "Theosophia."

None of the organized Theosophical Societies, as such, are responsible
for any ideas expressed in this magazine, unless contained in an official
document. The Editor is responsible for unsigned articles only.

*

THOUGHTS
TO REMEMBER ...

"The purpose of life, its true direction ... is inherent in the
very nature of life, not separate from it, and therefore to be discovered
in the very experience of living. Ideally it is a certain fulfilment
from moment to moment that makes each moment, the thought and action
of that moment, complete and significant. If each moment can be a 'high
light,' not in relation to others but in its own right, unique in its
significance, then it is an illumined moment, the purpose is fulfilled
entirely. The endeavor should therefore be to free life, which means
both thought and that which is deeper than thought, from everything which
impedes and limits its expression. The flowering of each moment into
its own appropriate beauty is the serving of life's highest purpose." -
N. Sri Ram, The Theosophist, November, 1955.

"Occultism is the descriptive science of the things that are causal,
and therefore of the things which are in most instances invisible - Nature's
fundamental structure, operations, and 'laws'; and anyone who studies
these realities and who has reached some understanding of them from individual
experience and insight and who delivers what he knows to his fellow-men,
is a true and genuine Occultist ... Occultism is the science of the
things which are invisible. This science actually exists. It is an operative
science but also a descriptive one. There is a way of going behind the
veils of Nature; there is a secret, a sacred, science, and this science
is Occultism. Occultism bears the same relation to Theosophy that Wisdom
bears to its Works among men. Occultism is that part of Theosophy which
pertains to the secret and sacred Science; and Theosophy is that part
of Occultism which pertains to the operations and descriptive work of
the secret and sacred Science among men. When parts of this secret and
sacred Science are delivered to men in formulated fashion, more or less
openly and clearly so that any who are worthy many receive and understand,
that is Theosophy - the Wisdom of the Gods, as given to mankind. - G.
de Purucker, Questions We All Ask, Second Series, pp. 256-57. [3]

*

LET'S
KEEP AN OPEN MIND!Boris de Zirkoff

With every new year that is opening, fresh evidence becomes available
of the steady growth of the Theosophical Movement, and the wide dissemination
of the teachings of the Ancient Wisdom. It is not so much the actual
numerical growth of Organizations that counts, but rather the degree
to which Theosophical ideas and principles penetrate into the consciousness
of the people, and find lodgment in their minds. And this takes place
on a very large scale these days, and is noticeable everywhere.

So rapid are some of the thought-developments in various quarters of
the globe, that the idea suggests itself very naturally that the promised
twentieth century effort on the part of the Occult Brotherhood may not
be so far away, and that its appropriate symptoms can already be discerned.

The actual appearance of a direct Messenger from the Lodge of the Masters
is expected by many students towards the latter quarter of this century,
and some of them have already built in their minds a rather definite
idea as to what kind of an individual that Messenger will be. Too much
definiteness in this respect seems, however, both premature and risky,
as a number of factors will undoubtedly play an important role. A considerable
degree of uncertainty is perhaps a wiser attitude in this respect, at
least for the time being.

Is there any valid reason for supposing, for instance, that the expected
individual, to be sent by the Lodge for the new occult impulse, is to
be a so-called "Caucasian," however uncertain and indefinite
this term may be? Could he not belong to one of the other great divisions
of mankind? Our inbred leanings toward Occidental superiority may trip
us in this regard.

On what basis should we expect such an individual to appear within the
ranks of one or another of the existing Theosophical Societies? His identification
with one or another of them is bound to be the cause of intense jealousy
on the part of those less favored in this respect. This in itself would
be a great handicap to be working under. The various Theosophical organized
bodies have by now made a rather specific picture in their minds as to
what this particular Messenger should be like, and if the latter proves
to be considerably different from these mental constructs, he will find
it very difficult to work within the ranks of any such organization.

Can it be stated with any degree of certainty as to whether this individual
would use the outer form of a man or of a woman? In some students' minds
either the one or the other would be unacceptable, or at least not welcome.

Careful observation seems to show that a great number of students expect
this individual to be one of some prominence, either in intellectual
achievements, general scholarship, or in regard to some special talent,
cultural qualities, or personal appearance. Why should this be the case?
Is it not possible that such a Messenger would be a man or woman of intense
spirituality, occult insight, and inner power, without exhibiting any
intellectual [4] scholarship of the purely mundane type? Could
he not be a leader of men in the deeper sense of this term, without being
a brilliant speaker or writer? To limit our picture of existing possibilities
in this regard may result for some of us actually missing the opportunity
of recognizing that individual when he does turn up.

Is there any valid reason for supposing that he could not possibly appear
outside the ranks of any organization, drawing to himself from everywhere
men and women who are ready and well qualified, eager to follow the lead
of his spiritual impulse?

It seems to be thoroughly believed by many at the present time that
this individual will be imbued with Theosophy as it is understood today,
using terms already well established. Why should this be the case? Could
he not instead bring a new installment of the same Wisdom under some
similar but not identical term, and show us how to merge into a larger
picture the various schools of metaphysical thought existing today, and
this without departing one iota from the traditional teachings of the
Esoteric Philosophy?

It is of paramount importance for us students not to become crystallized
in any particular mould of thought on this or any other subject. We must
remain fluidic in our minds and ready to receive truth wherever it may
come from. The laws of occult life are too little known to us yet, to
warrant on our part too much certainty, as to the exact manner in which
they are enacted. Messengers from the Lodge have been known to be men
and women of immense wealth and power in the world, such as the Count
de Saint-Germain; and they have been known to be people seemingly very
poor, friendless, and alone, such as H.P. Blavatsky, when making artificial
flowers in d small apartment in New York, around 1874. They have been
known to be at home in palaces and in the company of kings, and to have
led the life of poor shoemakers, such as Jacob Boehme.

In the meantime, it is our bounden duty to prepare the soil into which
new and more vital seeds will be cast before long, by men and women perhaps
far more experienced and wiser than we are ourselves, in the business
of this Movement. Let us resolve at the opening of this New Year to keep
our minds open, our hearts attuned to spiritual sources of knowledge,
and our Vision of the future, upon the horizons of our souls, clear and
vivid.

*

"It is of the very life blood of democracy that there be freedom
to seek the truth through knowledge. The inquiring mind, indeed the boldly
inquiring mind, persistent intellectual curiosity, the testing of every
thesis and dogma against fact and reason are the working tools of free
men and of the democratic educational process.

"It will be fatal to our way of life ... should our educational
process ever become shackled by the bonds of conformity of thought induced
by fear, perverted by anti-intellectualism, or lose through intimidation
its zest for knowledge and truth." - Ralph Bunche, in Wisdom,
January, 1956. [5]

*

CROSS
AND FIREH.P. Blavatsky
[Originally published in The Theosophist, Vol. I, November 1879, pp. 35-36.]

Perhaps the most widespread and universal among the symbols in the
old astronomical systems, which have passed down the stream of time
to our century, and have left traces everywhere in the Christian religion
as elsewhere, - are the Cross and the Fire, the latter the symbol of
the sun. The ancient Aryans had them both as the symbols of Agni. Whenever
the ancient Hindu devotee desired to worship Agni - says E. Burnouf
(La Science des religions, ch. x) he arranged two pieces of
wood in the form of a cross, and, by a peculiar whirling and friction
obtained fire for his sacrifice. As a symbol, it is called Swastica,
and, as an instrument manufactured out of a sacred tree and in possession
of every Brahmin, it is known as Arani.

The Scandinavians had the same sign and called it Thor's Hammer, as
bearing a mysterious magneto-electric relation to Thor, the God of
Thunder, who, like Jupiter armed with his thunderbolts, holds likewise
in his hand this ensign of power, over not only mortals but also the
mischievous spirits of the elements, over which he presides. In Masonry
it appears in the form of the grand master's mallet; at Allahabad it
may be seen on the Fort as the Jaina Cross, or the Talisman of the
Jaina Kings; and the gavel of the modern judge is no more than this crux
dissimulata - as de Rossi, the archaeologist calls it; for the
gavel is the sign of power and strength, as the hammer represented
the might of Thor, who, in the Norse legends splits a rock with it,
and kills Medgar. Dr. Schliemann found it in terra cotta disks,
on the site, as he believes, of ancient Troy, in the lowest strata
of his excavations; which indicated, according to Dr. Lundy, "an
Aryan civilization long anterior to the Greek - say from two to three
thousand years B.C." Burnouf calls it the oldest form of the cross
known, and affirms that it is found personified in the ancient religion
of the Greeks under the figure of Prometheus "the fire-bearer," crucified
on mount Caucasus, while the celestial bird - the Shyena of
the Vedic hymns, - daily devours his entrails. Boldetti (Osservazioni I,
15, p. 60) gives a copy from the painting in the cemetery of St. Sebastian,
representing a Christian convert and grave-digger, named Diogenes,
who wears on both his legs and right arm the signs of the Swastica.
The Mexicans and the Peruvians had it, and it is found as the sacred
Tau in the oldest tombs of Egypt.

It is, to say the least, a strange coincidence, remarked
even by some Christian clergymen, that Agnus Dei, the Lamb of
God, should have the symbols, identical with the Hindu God Agni. While Agnus
Dei expiates and takes away the sins of the world, in one religion,
the God Agni, in the other, likewise expiates sins against the gods,
man, the manes, the soul, and repeated sins, as shown in the six prayers
accompanied by six oblations (Colebrooke, Essays, Vol. 1, p.
190.).

If, then, we find these two - the Cross and the Fire - so closely
associated in the esoteric symbolism of nearly every nation, it is
because on the [6] combined powers of the two rests the whole
plan of universal law. In astronomy, physics, chemistry, in the whole
range of natural philosophy, in short, they always come out as the
invisible cause and the visible result; and only metaphysics and alchemy
- or shall we say Metachemistry, since we prefer coining a new
word to shocking sceptical ears? - can fully and conclusively solve
the mysterious meaning. An instance or two will suffice for those who
are willing to think over hints.

The Central Point, or the great central sun of the Kosmos, as the
Kabalists call it, is the Deity. It is the point of intersection between
the two great conflicting powers - the centripetal and the centrifugal
forces - which drive the planets into their elliptical orbits, making
them trace a cross in their path through the Zodiac. These two terrible,
though as yet hypothetical and imaginary powers, preserve harmony and
keep the Universe in steady, unceasing motion; and the four bent points
of the Swastica typify the revolution of the Earth upon its axis. Plato
calls the Universe a "blessed god" which was made in a
circle and decussated is the form of the letter X. So much for
astronomy. In Masonry the Royal Arch degree retains the cross as the
triple Egyptian Tau. It is the mundane circle with the astronomical
cross upon it rapidly revolving; the perfect square of the Pythagorean
mathematics in the scale of numbers, as its occult meaning is interpreted
by Cornelius Agrippa. Fire is heat, - the central point; the perpendicular
ray represents the male element or spirit; and the horizontal one the
female element - or matter. Spirit vivifies and fructifies the matter,
and everything proceeds from the central point, the focus of Life,
and Light, and Heat, represented by the terrestrial fire. So much again,
for physics and chemistry, for the field of analogies is boundless,
and Universal Laws are immutable and identical in their outward and
inward applications. Without intending to be disrespectful to anyone,
or to wander far away from truth, we think we may say that there are
strong reasons to believe that in their original sense the Christian
Cross - as the cause, and Eternal torment by Hell Fire - as the direct
effect of negation of the former - have more to do with these two ancient
symbols than our Western theologians are prepared to admit. If Fire
is the Deity with some heathens, so in the Bible, God is likewise the
Life and the Light of the World; if the Holy Ghost and Fire cleanse
and purify the Christian, on the other hand Lucifer is also Light,
and called the "Son of the morning."

Turn wherever we will, we are sure to find these conjoint relics of
ancient worship with almost every nation and people. From the Aryans,
the Chaldeans, the Zoroastrians, Peruvians, Mexicans, Scandinavians,
Celts, and ancient Greeks and Latins, it has descended in its completeness,
to the modern Parsi. The Phoenician Cabiri and the Greek Dioscuri are
partially revived in every temple, cathedral, and village church; while,
as will now be shown, the Christian Bulgarians have even preserved
the sun worship in full.

It is more than a thousand years since this people, who, emerging
from obscurity, suddenly became famous through the late Russo-Turkish
war, were converted to Christianity. And yet they appear none the less
pagans than they [7] were before, for this is how they meet
Christmas and the New Year's day. To this time they call this festival
Sourjvaki, as it falls in with the festival in honour of the ancient
Slavonian god Sourja. In the Slavonian mythology this deity - Sourja
or Sourva, - evidently identical with the Aryan Surya ... sun
... is the god of heat, fertility, and abundance. The celebration of
this festival is of an immense antiquity, as, far before the days of
Christianity, the Bulgarians worshiped Sourva, and consecrated New
Year's day to this god, praying him to bless their fields with fertility,
and send them happiness and prosperity. This custom has remained among
them in all its primitive heathenism, and though it varies according
to localities, yet the rites and ceremonies are essentially the same.

On the eve of New Year's Day, the Bulgarians do no work, and are obliged
to fast. Young betrothed maidens are busy preparing a large platiy (cake)
in which they place roots and young shoots of various forms, to each
of which a name is given, according to the shape of the root. Thus
one means the "house," another represents the "garden";
others again, the mill, the vineyard, the horse, a cat, a hen, and
so on, according to the landed property and worldly possessions of
the family. Even articles of value such as jewelry and bags of money
are represented in this emblem of the horn of abundance. Besides all
these, a large and ancient silver coin is placed inside the cake; it
is called babka and is tied two ways with a red thread, which
forms a cross. This coin is regarded as the symbol of fortune.

After sunset, and other ceremonies, including prayers addressed in
the direction of the departing luminary, the whole family assemble
about a large round table called paralya, on which are placed
the above-mentioned cake, dry vegetables, corn, wax taper, and, finally,
a large censer containing incense of the best quality do perfume the
god. The head of the household, usually the oldest in the family -
either the grandfather, or the father himself - taking up the censer
with the greatest veneration, in one hand, and the wax taper in the
other, begins walking about the premises, incensing the four corners,
beginning and ending with the East; and reads various invocations,
which close with the Christian "Our Father who art in Heaven," addressed
to Sourja. The taper is then laid away to be preserved throughout the
whole year, till the next festival. It is thought to have acquired
marvelous healing properties, and is lighted only upon occasions of
family sickness, in which case it is expected to cure the patient.

After this ceremony, the old man takes his knife and cuts the cake
into as many slices as there are members of the household present.
Each person, upon receiving his or her share, makes haste to open and
search the piece. The happiest of the lot, for the ensuing year, is
he or she who gets the part containing the old coin crossed with the
scarlet thread; he is considered the elect of Sourja, and every one
envies the fortunate possessor. Then in order of importance come the
emblems of the house, the vineyard, and so on; and according to his
finding, the finder reads his horoscope for the coming year. Most unlucky
he who gets the cat; he turns pale and trembles. Woe to him and [8] misery,
for he is surrounded by enemies, and has to prepare for great trials.

At the same time, a large log which represents a flaming altar, is
set up in the chimney-place, and fire is applied to it. This log burns
in honor of Sourja, and is intended as an oracle for the whole house.
If it burns the whole night through till morning, without the flame
dying out, it is a good sign; otherwise the family prepares to see
death that year, and deep lamentations end the festival.

Neither the momtzee (young bachelor), nor the mommee (the
maiden), sleep that night. At midnight begins a series of sooth-saying,
magic, and various rites, in which the burning log plays the part of
the oracle. A young bud thrown into the fire and bursting with a loud
snap, is a sign of happy and speedy marriage, and vice versa.
Long after midnight, the young couples leave their respective homes,
and begin visiting their acquaintances, from house to house, offering
and receiving congratulations, and rendering thanks to the deity. These
deputy couples are called the Souryakari, and each male carries
a large branch ornamented with red ribbons, old coins, and the image
of Sourja, and as they wend along sing in chorus. Their chant is as
original as it is peculiar and merits translation, though, of course,
it must lose in being rendered into a foreign language. The following
stanzas are addressed by them to those they visit:

Sourva, Sourva, Lord of the season,
Happy New Year mayest thou send:
Health and fortune on this household,
Success and blessings till next year.
With good crops and full ears,
With gold and silk, and grapes and fruit.
With barrels full of wine, and stomachs full,
You and your house be blessed by the God ...
His blessing on you all. Amen! Amen! Amen!

The singing Souryakari, recompensed for their good
wishes with a present at every house, go home at early dawn ... And
this is how the symbolical
exoteric Cross and Fire worship of old Aryavart go hand in hand in
Christian Bulgaria ...

*

AVAILABLE AGAIN ...

One of the best works of William Kingsland, The Gnosis or Ancient
Wisdom in the Christian Scriptures, is in print again. It is
published by George Allen & Unwin, Ltd., 40 Museum Street, London,
W.C.I., England, and can be obtained for 16 shillings (about $2.25).
We highly recommend this work from the pen of one of H.P.B.'s personal
pupils. Its basic ideas should be studied by all serious students.
The author shows the true origin of the Christian teachings in the
Gnosis of ancient days, and its gradual corruption through priestcraft
and superstition. His mystical interpretations are confirmed by science
and scholarship. [9]

*

"YES,
AND HOPE"A. E.

They bring none to his or to her terminus or to be content and full,
Whom they take they take into space to behold the birth of stars, to
learn one of the meanings,
To launch off with absolute faith, to sweep through the ceaseless rings
and never be quiet again.
- Whitman

Here is inspiration - the voice of the soul. And we, who professed
to bring such wisdom, what have we to say? Have we uttered with equal
confidence such hopes, or with such daring and amplitude of illustration?
Let us confess we have not. There are one or two exceptions which will
occur to everyone. Now, as we adventure afresh, let us see what it
is has brought despondency and failure in our work upon us in the past.
I think it is because we have been saying things we have never realized;
we have been repeating without imagination the words of those few leaders.
We have lowered their heroic tone because we thought we were speaking
to a fallen people who could not respond to our highest. But it was
not the way, it was not the way. It is not with the dust we have brotherhood,
but with the ancient spirit it clouds over. To this spirit we must
speak heart to heart as we know how. I would not willingly recognize
aught in anyone but the divine. Often indeed the form or surface far
removed from beauty makes us falter, and we speak to that form and
so the soul is not stirred; it will not respond. But an equal temper
arouses it. To whoever hails in it the lover, the hero, the magician,
it will answer, but not to him who accosts it as Mr. So-and-So.
Every word which really inspires is spoken as if the Golden Age had
never passed. The great teachers ignore the personal identity and speak
to the eternal pilgrim. Do we not treasure most their words which remind
us of our divine origin? So we must in our turn speak. How often do
we long to break through the veils which divide us from some one, but
custom, convention, or a fear of being misunderstood prevent us, and
so the moment departs whose heat might have burned through every barrier.
Out with it - out with it, the hidden heart, the love that is voiceless,
the secret tender germ of an infinite forgiveness. That speaks to the
heart. That pierces through many a vesture of the Soul. Our companion
struggles in some labyrinth of passion. We help him, we think, with
ethics, with the moralities. Ah, very well they are; well to know and
to keep, but wherefore? For their own sake? No, but that the King may
arise in his beauty. We write that in letters, in books, but to the
face of the fallen who brings back remembrance? Who calls him by his
secret name? Let a man but feel for that is his battle, for that his
cyclic labor, and a warrior who is invincible fights for him and he
draws upon divine powers. Let us but get that way of looking at things
which we call imaginative, and how everything alters. For our attitude
to man and to nature, expressed or not, has something of the effect
of ritual, of evocation. As our aspiration so is our inspiration. We
believe in life universal, in a brotherhood which links the elements
to man, and makes the glow-worm feel far [10] off something
of the rapture of the seraph hosts. Then we go out into the living
world, and what influences pour through us! We are "at league
with the stones of tile field." The winds of the world blow radiantly
upon us as in tile early time. We feel wrapt about with love, with
an infinite tenderness that caresses us. Alone in our rooms as we ponder,
what sudden abysses of light open within us! The Gods are so much nearer
than we dreamed. We rise up intoxicated with the thought, and reel
out seeking an equal companionship under the great night and the stars.

Let us get near to realities. We read too much. We think of that which
is the goal, the Comforter, the Lord, the Witness, the resting-place,
the asylum and the Friend." Is it by any of these dear and familiar
names? Alas, our souls are becoming mere bundles of theories. We follow
the trail of the Monad, but often it is only in the pages of The
Secret Doctrine. And we talk much of Atma, Buddhi and Manas.
Could we not speak of them in our own tongue and the language of today
will be as sacred as any of the past. No wonder that the Manasa do
not incarnate. We cannot say we do pay reverence to these awful powers.
We repulse the living truth by our doubts and reasonings. We would
compel the Gods to fall in with our philosophy rather than trust in
the heavenly guidance. We make diagrams of them. Ah, to think of it,
those dread deities, the divine Fires, to be so enslaved. We have not
comprehended the meaning of the voice which cried, "Prepare ye
the way of the Lord," or this, "Lift up your heads, O ye
gates. Be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory
shall come in." Nothing that we read is useful unless it calls
up living things in the soul. To read a mystic book truly is to invoke
the powers. If they do not rise up plumed and radiant, the apparitions
of spiritual things, then is our labor barren. We only encumber the
mind with useless symbols. They knew better ways long ago. "Master
of the Green-waving Planisphere, ... Lord of the Azure Expanse ...
it is thus we invoke," cried the magicians of old.

And us, let us invoke them with joy, let us call upon them with love,
the Light we hail, or the Divine Darkness we worship with silent breath,
hymning it in our hearts with quietude and more enraptured awe. That
silence cries aloud to the Gods. Then they will approach us. Then we
may learn that speech of many colors, for they will not speak in our
mortal tongue; they will not answer to the names of men. Their names
are rainbow glories. Yet these are mysteries and they cannot be reasoned
out or argued over. We cannot speak truly of them from report, or description,
or from what another has written. A relation to the thing in itself
alone is our warrant, and this means we must set aside our intellectual
self-sufficiency and await guidance. It will surely come to those who
wait in trust, a glow, a heat in the heart announcing the awakening
of the Fire. And, as it blows with its mystic breath into the brain,
there is a hurtling of visions, a brilliance of lights, a sound as
of great waters vibrant and musical in their flowing, and murmurs from
a single yet multitudinous being. In such a mood, when the far becomes
near, [11] the strange familiar, and the infinite possible,
he wrote from those words we get the inspiration:

"To launch off with absolute faith, to sweep through the ceaseless
rings and never be quiet again."

Such a faith and such an unrest be ours: faith which is mistrust of
the visible; unrest which is full of a hidden surety and reliance.
We, when we fall into pleasant places, rest and dream our strength
away. Before every enterprise and adventure of the soul we calculate
in fear our power to do. But remember, "Oh, disciple, in thy work
for thy brother thou hast many allies; in the winds, in the air, in
all the voices of the silent shore." These are the far-wandered
powers of our own nature and they turn again home at our need. We came
out of the Great Mother-Life for the purposes of soul. Are her darlings
forgotten where they darkly wander and strive? Never. Are not the lives
of all her heroes proof? Though they seem to stand alone the eternal
Mother keeps watch on them, and voices far away and unknown to them
before arise in passionate defence, and hearts beat warm to help them.
Aye, if we could look within we would see vast nature stirred on their
behalf, and institutions shaken, until the truth they fight for triumphs,
and they pass, and a wake of glory ever widening behind them trails
down the ocean of years. Thus the warrior within us works, or, if we
choose to phrase it so, it is the action of the spiritual will. Shall
we not, then, trust in it and face the unknown defiant and fearless
of its dangers. Though we seem to go alone to the high, the lonely,
the pure, we need not despair. Let no one bring to this task the mood
of the martyr or of one who thinks he sacrifices something. Yet let
all who will come. Let them enter the path, "Yes, and hope," facing
all things in life and death with a mood at once gay and reverent,
as becomes those who are immortal - who are children today, but whose
hands tomorrow may grasp the sceptre, sitting down with the Gods as
equal and companions.

Know that thou too art a God, to abide mid the hurry and haste,
A God in the sunlit hall, a God on the rain-swept waste,
A God in the battle triumphant; ...
- Norse Legend

These words, found in an old, old legend of the
North, we find repeated in the Vedas of India, the legends of the
American Indians, and the Bible of Christianity. This idea, spread
through the length and breadth of the land, should not be strange
to us of the present sceptical age, for, though clothed in a slightly
different robe, it has been placed before us again and again within
the last few years, but how many of us have realized it in ever so
slight a degree? We had got into a slip shod way of thinking of the
immortal part of ourselves - when we did think about it -
and needed words of fire to rouse us from our torpid condition; to
make us feel that we are something more than body; that of a truth
a bright spirit ensouls the frame which walks about on earth; that
from all time the soul has existed, ever taking and wearing other
and other bodies, and trying to train those bodies to live its life,
instead of living the life of the animal. Recognizing the working
of the soul, and recognizing the working of the body, we see that,
in the vast majority of cases, the body is dominant. Our minds are
absorbed by the trivialities of daily life. Sometimes we glimpse
something far ahead of us; light is rayed on things that heretofore
were puzzles, and sometimes we hear the voice of the soul speaking
to us and guiding us when we are anguish-torn and writhing from the
forces that seem to be making a playground of us; forces that appear
to be wholly evil and from which we can see no loophole of escape.

But the soul makes itself heard through the fury and storm of this
internal strife; then, appearing to stand outside ourselves, we view
these forces at work, and we know that the soul has power to conquer
them, for they belong to a fleeting nature, and the soul is immortal,
eternal, imperishable. Realizing this, there comes a cessation from
the storm, and then the whole being seems to burst forth into a song
of joy, for every time that we conquer ourselves we are helping others
to conquer themselves.

Still, we do not always want to fight. Sometimes we feel so tired,
and an inclination to drift on the tide arises in our nature. But
having once called on the God within to help us in our struggles
towards the divine, drifting, for any length of time, is no longer
possible to us. The soul cries: "Arise, mortal, take up thy
Godhood. Art thou weary? I will support thee. One longing thought
cast upward is sufficient to draw me down to thee, for I am ever
watching over thee." Then once again we take up the burden of
material thoughts and desires, and instead of giving way to them,
we determine to make them subservient to us.

Is it not time we grasped some of the knowledge and wisdom awaiting
us? It is ours by right of the long-past ages, when we helped to
gather and to garner it. Some mighty ones of [13] the race
have gone on before us and found this Wisdom of the Gods; but we
- weak mortals - lack the high purpose, the steadfastness and the
undaunted will which are absolutely necessary for all those who would
walk in the path of the soul. We stretch out our hands feebly, to
grasp even the hem of the robe of Wisdom. Never, NEVER shall
the feeble hand and the faint heart know aught of it. Only the heart
burning with love for humanity, and the hand stretched out to help
those who are struggling on, can ever hope to approach near to the
great white Flame that burns throughout the ages.

Then let us rise out of our sorrowful state. We are the makers
of it, and the have to be the masters of it. We can do it any time
that we will. We may fail often, but we will not be discouraged; apparent failure
is often success. Do we say that it needs mighty efforts to do this?
Who is capable of making those efforts if not we? we who ruled the
winds and the waves and the fire and the earth before we forgot our
Godhood. And I say we can do it now. Our ancient powers are not lost,
they but sleep in us. We may make them living, shooting, burning
fires embracing the whole universe.

This great teaching of our immortality, our divinity, dwarfs all
other teaching. It spurs us on to greater endeavor; we want to lose
the selfishness which is part of our nature now and gain the selflessness
which was ours long ago; we want to free ourselves from the garment
of flesh and put on the mantle of many colors, "the mantle of
flame which sweeps the ends of the universe."

Now is the time to strive towards perfection; now is the time to
work with our minds and our hearts in order that the divine may once
more manifest through us, that we may indeed become shining as the
stars in the blue vault above us.

All you who are endeavoring by earnest effort and unselfish life
to reach the goal, I clasp hands with you in brotherhood; we will
go, we will work together in peace and unity throughout all time.

*

"We cannot banish dangers, but we can banish
fears. We must not demean life by standing in awe of death. I do
not doubt that we shall win in the deepening struggle between liberty
and enslavement; that we can emerge better and stronger from the
contest. Indeed, we could lose only by default - and Youth must make
certain that it does not default ...

"To light the way, You can acquire a body of knowledge. But
knowledge is not enough, unless it leads to understanding, and in
turn to wisdom. And wisdom implies an appreciation of the basic laws
of nature and of man's behavior. It calls for patience to select
or develop the best means to achieve the best possible results. You
today must accept the fact that the only certainty in life is change
- and then they will be in a better position to assimilate change
without mental indigestion and moral confusion. In this universe
of endless wonders, the most wondrous is the human mind capable of
delving so deep, and the heart aware of depths we can never plumb." -
David Sarnoff, in Wisdom, January, 1956. [14]

*

I WOULD LIKE TO ASK ...

There are so many different definitions of meditation, and some
of them are quite confusing. Is it to be practiced at stated times,
or can it become a constant undercurrent of thought?

Meditation is essentially the dwelling in one's mind upon that which
you really love. The more you love a thing, the more you dwell on
it in consciousness. It does not matter whether the thing is base,
high, or in-between. It applies in all cases. Whenever our consciousness
dwells on anything we really love or are deeply attached to, our
consciousness is in a state of being enraptured with it. Therefore,
limiting it to the spiritual and positive side of things, the more
we love inwardly the great spiritual ideals that are in the back
of our mind, and to which we are deeply devoted, and the more we
dwell in thought upon these ideals, the more enraptured our consciousness
becomes with the consideration of them. Hence, the greater is our
love for a thought, an idea, or a trend of ideas, the more will our
consciousness revert to them; and every time it reverts to them,
it basks in them, it enjoys their contemplation, it likes to fill
itself with these ideas; and that is essentially the condition of
meditation. It is a meditative state of consciousness.

Now, if it were really possible and advisable to dwell upon these
high and noble themes but a few minutes a day and in a definite place;
if it were possible and advisable to limit our love for these ideas
to such a short time, it would hardly show our great love for them.
In fact, that which you love, you revert to as often as possible.
It is a natural bent or inclination of human consciousness, to pour
itself into the shape of the ideals one loves. Therefore meditation
is rather an undercurrent of high thought, a powerful stream of consciousness,
directed towards the ideals of one's life. Meditation has nothing
to do with mere thinking; it is not an action of the personal brain
mind. If meditation is identified with thought, it is only on account
of the lack of words in our dictionary to depict the true state of
affairs.

Meditation is a state of consciousness or a direction of consciousness.
The objective or subject of meditation is like an arrow, establishing
the direction of the flow of our higher consciousness above the brain
mentality.

A man can be thinking about his duties, avocations, manual work,
his various obligations of the day; he may be busily engaged in muscular
work or in the carrying out of some routine, often unpleasant routine,
and yet through his entire day and through all of his actions and
duties he may be carrying from morning till night, and into his sleep,
an undercurrent of unbroken meditation upon some lofty theme, mostly
unbeknown to everyone who is around him.

To put it more specifically: every student of the Ancient Wisdom
loves the great ideas of Cosmic Unity, of the Oneness of all life,
of the indwelling Divinity in everything that is, of the Universal
Solidarity of Mankind. He loves very deeply the high precepts of
patience, courage, fearlessness, magnanimity, serenity, inner quiet.
If he loves these things, his consciousness will be dwelling upon [15] these
subjects. This dwelling is meditation. The more often he dwells on
these thoughts, the more often is his consciousness directed like
an arrow towards them. And we must not forget that in Occultism the
way to become anything is to dwell in consciousness upon that thing.
If we desire to become anything in particular all we have to do is
to dwell upon the qualities of that which we want to become. Eventually,
the mind, the lower personal mental apparatus, is bound to shape
itself into the form, or fashion itself into the shape, of the contemplated
ideal, or object, or quality.

Meditation therefore, is actually a method whereby the individual
eventually becomes, or partially becomes, that which his consciousness
dwells upon. As already stated, meditation is essentially the dwelling,
in consciousness, upon that which you love.

It has been stated (The Esoteric Tradition, p.
871.) that "The
reimbodying Ego evolved forth by the Monad in and on each such
planetary chain is one of these fit and appropriate intermediate
links. Thus the Monad is evolving, growing greater as time passes,
and follows its own pathway of evolution through the spheres, carrying
its load of individual consciousnesses - each Ray or Individual
holding the various fruitage of each incarnation on earth or of
embodiments on other planets."

Does this mean that our Spiritual Monad has projected from itself
several Rays which function as embodied individual egoic consciousnesses
on all of the planets of our Solar System simultaneously? If this
is true, has there been any teaching given out as to whether all
of such Reimbodying Egos would die at the same time or tit different
times?

This is not an easy question to answer, as it involves some of the
most recondite teachings of the Esoteric Philosophy. Analogy is the
main key to the correct comprehension of these matters. Let us remember
that the Divine Monad in our own hierarchical constitution ranges
over the entire galaxy and is therefore at home throughout all of
its innumerable solar systems. Its child or ray is the Spiritual
Monad which ranges over one Solar System only and is therefore at
home in all of the planetary chains of such a Solar System. By analogy,
the Reimbodying Monad belongs to just one planetary chain and its
consciousness ranges over the various globes of that chain. The child
of the Reimbodying Monad is the reincarnating ego of one globe of
the planetary chain, such as globe D on which we evolve at the present
time. There are, therefore, other reincarnating entities evolving
on the other globes of our chain, at various times. However, in the
light of the teachings as they have been given out up to the present
time in our published Theosophical literature, it would not be possible
to state with any degree of finality whether the various entities,
belonging to the several globes of one chain, evolve on all of them
simultaneously or not. By analogy, it is also impossible definitely
to state whether the various Reimbodying Monads - children of the
same Spiritual Monad - evolve simultaneously on the various planetary
chains of our Solar System. It is highly improbable that such entities
would all "die" or rather dis-embody at the same time;
this would make the [16] process a rather mechanical one.
There must exist some extremely intimate correlation between them
all, and similarity of processes, without any mechanical identity.
This is still more likely because of the important fact that the
various entities on the different globes of one chain, or the various
greater entities on the various planetary chains, are in different
evolutionary stages or conditions, and therefore the lengths of their
various imbodiments differ widely from each other. The bewildering
complexity, differentiation and variety of the existing conditions,
however, must be perfectly balanced in the overall harmony, which
pervades the entire structure of any particular unit we may be considering.

Do Theosophists believe that Christianity should be abolished
and its teachings wiped out?

It may be that some of them do so, in their less lucid moments,
but it would be a great mistake to imagine that such is the teaching
of Theosophy or the attitude of most of its students.

The Christian religion is based on foundations derived from the
Ancient Wisdom of those days; it has its roots in the universal spiritual
tradition of mankind. The outward forms of Christian worship, and
the body of its teachings, should be purified from the dross accumulated
through many centuries, and the various superstitions which have
become incorporated into these teachings. Christianity should be
raised to the original mystical condition of thought which it started
from; it should be rehabilitated and cleansed, both in practice and
in its ideas. Centers of Christian worship and study might yet become
centers of a very noble mystical tradition, if freed from man-made
theology and priestly imposture. Most students of Theosophy believe
in a gradual change for the better, and not in violent destruction,
which, as a rule, destroys also a great deal of what is good and
should be preserved. A man or woman who would actually live the precepts
contained in the Christian Scriptures, would be an out-and-out Theosophist.
True Theosophists are extremely rare. True Christians are equally
rare.

*

PROMOTION FUND

Ever since the Promotion Fund for Theosophia had been set up, donations
sent to it have been of very great help in meeting current costs
of printing. Occasionally, this Fund became somewhat depleted; at
other times, it was building up. At the present time, our Promotion
Fund is rather low, and we would like to raise its level somewhat
higher, so as to be able to fall back upon its resources if need
arose. If any readers would feel inclined to help us to do so, we
would be very grateful. - Editor.

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